Questions about tags

[Trionyx]

I would appreciate some info/insight about the use of tags.
Does anyone have a sense as to whether many readers actually use tags to identify stories they may wish to read?
The list of tags has different sized fonts. Larger fonts appear to be correlated with more uses of that tag, however this is author driven. Is there a way to know what the reader preferences might be. Do more readers prefer “oral sex” or “blow jobs”? “Fucking” or “screwing”? Picking the more popular term might generate more interest in more people for a particular story. With only ten tags allowed per story, it would be nice to know which terms are more popular.
Thanks.

 

[HeyAll]

Try reading this:

https://www.literotica.com/s/story-tags

I like to go as general as possible and hit the different themes.

Tags help because people use the Search function more than authors realize and the right tags can lead people to your story.

 

[KeithD]

As far as I can tell, I'm the only one using tags on my stories--when I want stories to put in a themed anthology I've just thought of doing. I do suggest that readers search on the tags when they asking me "do you have any more like that one," but I have no idea if they carry through.

 

[SimonDoom]

I think about tag use a lot, and I try to be careful about how I choose them.

The question you should ask yourself when you choose tags is this: How do I get as many people as possible to read my story?

The secondary consideration, which somewhat contradicts purpose number 1, is: What tags should I choose to flag content that some readers will hate, assuming I want to do that?

Tags come into play in certain important ways:

1. Readers can use tags to search for stories they want. I do this. I think this is an important and frequently used feature, although I have no data on how often.

2. There is a tag icon at the top of your story, which readers can use so they know how you've tagged your story and have more useful information to decide if they want to read it.

3. Your tags are listed at the end of your story. When the reader clicks on these tags the reader will gets lists of other stories that use those tags.

4. I'm not EXACTLY sure how this works, but when your story is first published, I believe tags are used to determine which stories are named on the "Similar Stories" list at the end of your story. Over time, however, the Similar Stories list is determined by a different algorithm -- highest number of favorites in common with other stories.

Given these functions of tags, this is what I do:

1. Consult the list of tags on the tag page for the category in which you will publish your story. See what are the most popular tags (in larger font size). Popular tags are more likely to be used in searches AND are more likely to link your story to a greater number of stories that use the same tags.

2. Use tags that describe the content of your story. Put yourself in the place of a potential reader. How can you best use tags to maximize the number of readers who choose to read your story?

3. Use tags that describe THE IMPORTANT EROTIC CONTENT OF YOUR STORY. What are readers really going to search for? You only have something like 10 tags to use. Don't waste them on something non-erotic and pointless like "Japanese Restaurant" just because the seduction takes place at a Japanese Restaurant. What are the odds of readers using that term to search for stories?

4. Use titillating terms, if possible. Get sexy.

5. Don't get cute. Just play it straight. If it's a mom-son incest story, then always, always use "mom son incest" or one of the similar (and similarly popular) tags. Always.

6. If you want to do a little extra homework on this issue, then seek out stories that are similar to yours, that are popular, and whose readers you think might look at your story. See what tags are associated with that story. Use those tags for your story.

7. Try to cover, within the limited number of tags you can use, the erotic breadth of your story.

8. DO use a term in the title in the tag as well, if it's a sexy, titillating word that you think will attract attention. I used "bikini" as a tag for my story "Bikini With A Mind Of Its Own." Why? It's a common and popular tag, so it ties my story to a lot of other stories. The word has sizzle. Many readers want to read about bikinis. I think the strategy worked. The story has a lot of views for an Exhibitionist & Voyeur story. I'm convinced the term "bikini" both in the title and as a tag, has helped.

 

[Bramblethorn]

I would appreciate some info/insight about the use of tags.
Does anyone have a sense as to whether many readers actually use tags to identify stories they may wish to read?

I don't think a lot of readers use tags at the moment, but management have flagged that as part of the site redesign tags will play a greater part in navigation. So even if they're not used much now, that may change.

 

[PennameWombat]

I would appreciate some info/insight about the use of tags.
Does anyone have a sense as to whether many readers actually use tags to identify stories they may wish to read?

I don't know. I've read here about what information can be found and it's certainly one way to find stories.

Almost all of my 'back catalog' gets somewhat steady traffic, but a small number with some specific tags (e.g., "pegging" in Fetish, but also my First Time stories) seem to get higher traffic than others. But I can't tell if it's the Categories or the Tags.

The list of tags has different sized fonts. Larger fonts appear to be correlated with more uses of that tag, however this is author driven. Is there a way to know what the reader preferences might be. Do more readers prefer “oral sex” or “blow jobs”? “Fucking” or “screwing”? Picking the more popular term might generate more interest in more people for a particular story. With only ten tags allowed per story, it would be nice to know which terms are more popular.
Thanks.

Yup. I use that to try for a mix of more commonly used tags but also aim for some of the others as well. I work from the basis that some readers might navigate to that page and be drawn by some of the 'bigger' text. But that's purely supposition based on general psychology, not stats from the site.

It would be nice if the site gave us information about the path a reader used to get to our stories. It seems inescapable the "New" lists are one key, as well as the Contest lists, since those stories clearly get jumps. But beyond that, whether they click through from my author page, the Top lists or through Tag searches, no idea. But so far as I'm aware, we have no way to get this. I don't know if the site maintains these kinds of stats and whether it's purely in aggregate (they could easily know how many visitors do tag searches) or try to track it to individual stories.

I try to max out on the number of tags and use them carefully since, regardless of how much they're used here, I know that they do get used in many other web sites and that SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is an entire new science that includes use of tags. So it's just good practice to keep in mind (IMHO, YMMV) making them useful for your story, based on what limited feedback we have.

 

[rescatooor]

I remember one of my ventures on this site was someone telling me they liked this one "airplane" story. So I tried finding it with tags. To me they're primarily a story-searching tool, although that is easily undone by just having an account and saving the stories you have read on a personal list.

It's useful for people with specific fetishes like hucow or feet fetishes for example. Others can check the tags as a warning sign for turn-offs. But if you are just looking to get a random, new sex story, you just probably don't use them.

 

[ScrappyPaperDoodler]

Nowadays, I almost exclusively use tags for searches. It's a way to cut past a lot of noise and find the most relevant thing I want to see. However, with that said, I'm rarely looking for a specific story. The 'New' section is probably where I find most of my reading and typically it's just to check out trends.

 

[gunhilltrain]

One time I didn't use certain words or phrases that would have given away the surprise ending. However, there were clues in the story about what was going to happen.

 

[LAHomedog]

I always use tags and I use all of the tags the site allows on a story.

I spend a lot of time planning which ones to use perusing the tag cloud Lit provides. I try to start with the tags that identify the main plot points or sex in the story and then the most popular tags that actually fit my story.

I have found that if you use the wrong tags and misguide a reader it pisses them off and you get low votes and angry replies. Now, I am much more careful about what I use.

 

[sophism]

I've been a reader on this site longer than I have been a writer here, and from my personal experience I've definitely used tags to guide my searches. Like some others have said, having generic tags, especially more popular ones within certain categories (eg. lesbian sex or older woman) can help readers get a general sense of what the story is in.

However, I primarily use tags to look up stories that are more specific, first.

So for example, I might look up 'historical' if I'm wanting a historical setting. When I click into a story, then, I can discern whether more common tags are the kind of story I'm wanting to read (lesbian sex? older woman? romantic? nonconsent? etc)

But that's just how I use tags so ymmv

 

[KeithD]

I don't think tags are used much to search for stories by readers, and, being located at the back of the posted text, they don't seem to serve much purpose in a reader deciding to read the story or not, and I don't think a reliable "they do/they don't" judgment can be made on nonexistent stats beyond ones and twosies anecdotal testimony we'll get here. Just another of those matters of blind faith, I think. Believe what you wish; it's all stab into the unknown/unknowable.

 

[NotWise]

I don't think tags are used much to search for stories by readers, and, being located at the back of the posted text, they don't seem to serve much purpose in a reader deciding to read the story or not, and I don't think a reliable "they do/they don't" judgment can be made on nonexistent stats beyond ones and twosies anecdotal testimony we'll get here. Just another of those matters of blind faith, I think. Believe what you wish; it's all stab into the unknown/unknowable.

At the top right of the first page of the story there is a box with information and settings for the story. One of the icons in the box is a tag. Click on the tag, and you get the tags without scrolling to the bottom of the last page. I've had comments that mention the tags, so at least some readers know about it.

My catalog gets a little more than 13 views/story/day--more for stories in active categories, and less for stories in back allies. That drops to around 10 views/story/day if I haven't published anything in a few months.

There are a lot of ways for readers to find stories, and tags are only one. I don't have any way to tell what mechanism they used to find the story unless they comment and say how they found it. I do wish there were some way to tell.

 

[Trionyx]

Thanks

I appreciate the feedback. It appears there is no consensus about how often/how much tags are used by readers to identify stories they may wish to read. Perhaps more frustrating is the absence of tracking data about reader preferences so writers have little to go on beside blind faith, psychology and popularity of author-generated tags to go by. My question of which words are more popular in tag searches simply cannot be answered.

 

[NotWise]

I appreciate the feedback. It appears there is no consensus about how often/how much tags are used by readers to identify stories they may wish to read. Perhaps more frustrating is the absence of tracking data about reader preferences so writers have little to go on beside blind faith, psychology and popularity of author-generated tags to go by. My question of which words are more popular in tag searches simply cannot be answered.

The idea with the tag clouds is that they're there for the readers to decide what terms are mostly likely to work. They aren't there for the writers.

I try to use popular tags from the tag clouds on the assumption that, if a reader uses the tag cloud at all, they're most likely to use the popular terms.

 

[SimonDoom]

I appreciate the feedback. It appears there is no consensus about how often/how much tags are used by readers to identify stories they may wish to read. Perhaps more frustrating is the absence of tracking data about reader preferences so writers have little to go on beside blind faith, psychology and popularity of author-generated tags to go by. My question of which words are more popular in tag searches simply cannot be answered.

It's not quite that bleak. You have to make inferences from the data you have, and those inferences aren't sure-fire things, but they're not quite "flying blind."

For instance, if, as seems likely, tags are indicated as popular in tag clouds because authors use them more often, it is nevertheless true that those tags are useful for reaching readers, because by using such a tag you link your story to a great number of other stories, and you increase the probability that readers will find your story when you use them. This is because of the tag-based story lists at the end of stories.

Plus, there is at least some reason to believe that authors use certain tags more because they find they work. I believe this to be the case with my stories. I'm fairly attentive to tags, and my stories get a lot of views. I think tag use is a factor.

 

[rescatooor]

I'm sure people use tags quite a bit but it's not that they look for tags like "blowjob" (although I'm sure someone will come and prove me wrong).

I think some people use tags much like I used to when I came to sites like this as a reader. I used to be super into teacher-student stories when I was younger, so a tag like "teacher" would easily help me find what I was look for. I imagine others would do the same with tags like "police", "nurse" or "flight attendant". Or "fairy tale" when they enjoy dark fantasies.

 

[KeithD]

I think that the most that can be inferred from available reliable and reasonably comprehensive data is that most readers probably have found how to get to the hubs of their greater category interests, thus zeroing in to a great extent on what they are searching for. From there, I think they select on title, description, and whether or not they are following that author. I think that few general readers even know about the story search function or how to use it (you have to go to advanced in it to get a good return and the advanced button isn't that easy to identify).

I do use it occasionally with an author, not reader, question. I do fill the field out to the ten-tag limit for each of my stories. When I do so, I don't imagine it adds a lot of readers for that story. If anything, it gives me a rarely needed comeback when/if a reader complains about what they found in the story ("It's in the tags, chum; it's not my fault you don't see the tags until after you've read the story--or that you choose to ignore that I did mark that issue as being in the story--or that you are anal retentive about someone else's responsibility to cater to quirks of yours that make you melt into the sidewalk even though you chose to read on a porn site.") I don't bother to make any deep-faith-based assumptions on how/if readers are using the tags for search, though. I put the effort that would take into writing more stories.

 

[rjordan]

I have some evidence that Laurel edits the tags. maybe for appropriateness. I wrote a story where bees were a primary character. For fun, I listed apiculture as a tag. She apparently deleted it.

rj

 

[NotWise]

I have some evidence that Laurel edits the tags. maybe for appropriateness. I wrote a story where bees were a primary character. For fun, I listed apiculture as a tag. She apparently deleted it.

rj

I've seen her add and remove tags.

 

[KeithD]

I've seen her add and remove tags.

I have as well, which gives some comfort that she must be checking content herself to at least some extent.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I've seen her add and remove tags.

Me too. Always better tags.